Hi there! Frequent user of your video crack here. I'm not one that enjoys the gym that often. I prefer to get grody and red-faced in the privacy of my own home. Cursing is also more acceptable when no one is around to hear it. (You can't yell "Oh f**k you AND that move" in the gym. People stare)

I appreciate the use of a modifier. Truly I do.

Planting butt on the couch and chowing down on pizza needs no modifier. So that's where I'm at most of the time.

I have one issue with your modifier.

They all look like this...

Now, I'm not body shaming. Far from it, in fact.

I understand that you put the super fit people in the videos for motivation. So we all work harder while thinking "I'm gonna look like THAT!"

I'm here to tell you that it doesn't always work that way.

Some of us see these people plowing through the workout and scream, "Well OF COURSE you can do that 500th burpee. Look at you...all fit and sh*t."

When I, an out of shape person, is struggling to keep with up the freaking modifier? I don't feel motivated by the super fit bodies dancing around the screen. I feel the opposite. I feel stuck and fat and stupid.

I can't be alone in this.

So how can you help?

Put US in your videos.

Put someone that didn't "graduate from the program" in it. Or who DID but still has weight to lose.

Put in the person that flushes bright red and looks like they want to die by the end of the workout. I relate to that person.

Put in the person that struggles to do that 5th pushup but powers through. I relate to that person.

Put in someone that needs that extra sip of water or extra second to breathe. It's hard to see "do it at your own pace" when no one else is taking a break. My "own pace" feels like crap.

Basically....add a few real people. I know it's not as glamorous. But it's real.

You're probably thinking:

So anyone that's reading this? Can you just sign a comment "Agree" or something if you could get behind this? If you can respectfully disagree, I invite that as well. And give it a share. If it gets enough traction I'll start linking it around to at least one company that I know listens...

My favorite part of Sweating to the Oldies or any other Richard Simmons video was that he always had NORMAL people working out with him. Fat, fit, tall, skinny, old, young..... a wide variety of people at different ability levels. I love Richard Simmons....

AGREE!!!!!! I watch videos and exercise games and what not, and I'm thinking the same thing. "Gotta keep up, gotta keep up, gotta ... oh EFF this ISH! I can't keep up. I'm done." and that's it. Let's have fat, skinny, tall, short, tired, and energetic people in there.

Reply

Jenn

4/23/2014 05:23:55 am

Agreed! It's cute to look at the fit bodies barely breaking a sweat working out but I want to work out with people like me, the one who is out of breath before the warm up is over and who takes a break once or thrice during rigorous work.

I agree! I think exercise videos in general are very misleading. I remember doing The Firm videos with Tracey Long back in the 1990s, and learning that to prepare (i.e. get in the shape she was in for the videos), she did HEAVY weight lifting and a bodybuilding diet. But here I was thinking by doing the video, I was going to look like her...